


Persona 5: Royal Redemption

by GameKnight143



Category: Persona 5, Persona 5 Royal
Genre: Action, Adventure, Akira with the World Arcana, Anger, Comedy, Deal With It, Grief, Multi, New Game Plus...Kinda, Persona 5 to Persona 5 Royal...Somewhat, Persona Abilities have slight bleed into real world, Time Travel...sorta
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:07:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27885004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GameKnight143/pseuds/GameKnight143
Summary: Akira Kurusu, a.k.a Joker, had done it. He had saved the world from the control of Yaldabaoth, the self-imposed "God of Control" and true form of the Holy Grail. In his hands was the true Holy Grail of humanity.At his feet was the blood of his teammates.He wished he could save them. He wished he could go back and do it all again, to fix any little thing that caused this outcome to happen.Akira wasn't expecting the Holy Grail to listen.Now stuck in an alternate reality beginning on the train to Tokyo, Akira Kurusu must now do everything in his power to make sure that his friends don't die on that fateful day on December 25th.But not all things are exactly the same this time around...
Relationships: Akira Kurusu & Morgana, Akira Kurusu & Sojiro Sakura, Akira Kurusu/Ann Takamaki, Akira Kurusu/Futaba Sakura, Akira Kurusu/Goro Akechi (Female), Akira Kurusu/Haru Okumura, Akira Kurusu/Kasumi (Sumire) Yoshizawa, Akira Kurusu/Lavenza (and Twins), Akira Kurusu/Makoto Niijima, Akira Kurusu/Ryuji Sakamoto (Female), Akira kurusu & Sae Niijima
Comments: 45
Kudos: 106





	1. A Fate Most Cruel

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there everyone! This is my first time writing a Persona fanfiction (as well as my second time actually writing a fanfiction). I appreciate any constructive criticism you all might have, so go ahead and say it if it needs to be said!
> 
> Anyways, I really hope you guys all enjoy this first chapter of Persona 5: Royal Redemption.

December 25th. A day dedicated to joy, merriment, and celebration of the holidays.

On that fateful day on December 25th, 2017, however, there was anything but joy and celebration.

All across the world, people were rapidly disappearing from existence as the Metaverse, the hidden world of cognition, was fusing with reality. Huge spires of flesh, bone, and sinew rose from cracks in the ground as fresh blood rained down from equally red skies.

Unbeknownst to most of humanity, the battle to decide the fate of humanity was slowly drawing to a close high above the buildings of Tokyo, Japan.

On a singular platform floating above the heavens, Joker was on his hands and knees, exhaustion racking every part of his body. In front of him floated the self-appointed "ruler of the masses", the God of Control Yaldabaoth. The Holy Grail's metallic body shone a brilliant gold as it towered above our raven haired protagonist.

Scattered around Joker's exhausted form...were the corpses of his fallen allies.

His team, the Phantom Thieves, had done all that they could to take out the God of Control, managing to take out all of the deadly sins that Yaldabaoth had in his arsenal. But alas, the team had taken one too many of the mechanical god's Rays of Control. The force of the Almighty attack had torn apart the band of thieves, who were unable to withstand such a devastating blow in their tired states.

Joker clenched his fists, the blood of his friends being squeezed out onto the floor. They had shielded him. Each and every one of his friends had jumped to protect their leader, shielding Joker from a good portion of the attack so their leader could survive.

And he couldn't do a damn thing to avenge them.

_"So, even with your valiant struggle, the will of the masses prevails in the end."_ A low rumble echoed across the cloudy landscape, a sound the teen recognized as the false god's laughter. _"You had many chances to escape this fate, yet you foolishly chose time and time again to oppose me."_ The false god leaned down towards the raven haired teen. _"If only you had accepted my offer from before. Then maybe their lives could have been spared."_

Joker made no reaction to this comment, only continuing to stare down at the ground on all fours.

_"Staying silent, young Trickster?"_ Yaldabaoth called the teen mockingly, _"Did the deaths of your allies steal your bravado? A shame, really. I was beginning to enjoy it's futility."_ The false god stood tall once more. _"To think, I had found someone worthy of becoming my apostle, yet now he has devolved into a shell of who he once was. Perhaps I can find another worthy enough to-"_

**BANG!**

A shot rang out across the heavens as a lone bullet pinged harmlessly off of the metallic god's golden chest, leaving only the tiniest of dents. The false god looked down at his assaulter, who shakily stood in front of him, gun barrel smoking from the resulting gunshot.

**"Shut...the fuck...up..."** The voice of the teen rang out, causing the Holy Grail to look at the lone thief in surprise. The air around their aerial arena shifted at the sound of his words, surrounding the ruler of the masses with a feeling of edge.

Finally looking back up at the false god, the lone thief's eyes were filled with an unshakable rage.

"I'm sick and tired of you...going on and on. A perfect world? Yeah fucking right! You're just taking away everyone's freedom, regardless of who wants it or not!" Joker yelled against the howling winds. All across the screens of Tokyo, the thief's voice rang out for all of its citizens to hear. People previously panicking and lost in despair were snapped from their emotions as they listened to their defender stand up to their oppressor.

"I know what it's like to be trapped, rotting my life away like nothing really mattered. I know what it's like to be looked down upon by assholes like you, who only want what's best for themselves! And you better bet your sorry ass that I'd stop anyone from doing that to anyone _ever again!_ " Joker gripped his mask tight and ripped it away. Much like long ago in April when he first summoned Arsene, blood splashed out from his face from where he ripped the domino mask off. The demonic visage of Arsene appeared behind him, his devilish grin somehow seeming wider than ever before.

"You took my friends. You took my freedom. You took away the freedom of humanity. _So guess what, you overgrown sippy cup?!"_ Joker grabbed onto the chains that surrounded Arsene, holding them tight. "I'M GONNA TAKE THAT FREEDOM BACK FROM YOU!!!" The lone thief slammed the chains onto the ground, the links shattering on impact. Ethereal blue fire burst from both ends of the broken chain, rapidly racing up the links until it reached Arsene, a bright blue and white bonfire consuming his form. As the representation of the gentleman thief faded into the flames, his demonically joyous laughter rang out across the heavens until the flames dissipated, leaving the thief by his lonesome.

Silence quickly consumed the aerial arena, neither god nor mortal moving an inch in its wake. After a moment, a low rumble started, slowly growing louder as the mechanical god laughed at his opponent, the rumbling now sounding almost like human laughter.

_"It seems that you have failed to harness your power, Trickster!"_ The false god laughed out. _"Now you stand alone, no allies or powers to aid you!"_ A ball of black and red energy began swirling at the center of Yandabaoth's chest, growing larger and larger in size. _"I will admit one thing to you, Trickster, before I send you to oblivion. You had me frightened there, but only for a minute. You have definitely entertained me so, so it pains me to erase you here. Unfortunately, you are not needed in the perfect world."_ The ball of energy began swirling faster as it floated above Joker.

_"Farewell, Trickste-"_

A thunderous boom rang out as the swirling ball of energy above Joker exploded, only the heat of the blast managing to actually touch him. The thief remained unmoving, eyes obscured to Yaldabaoth's gaze.

_"What? How can this-"_ Another thunderous boom shook the heavens as the golden clouds above turned dark grey, turning into a swirling miasma as lightning flashed all round the two fighters. A humongous figure, easily as big as the God of Control, began descending from the miasma of clouds. the figure was even more demonic looking than Arsene, sporting six bat-like wings on its back, devilish horns curving down from the sides of its head. It dressed in what appeared to be a black and grey tuxedo. In one of its clawed hands was a revolver, with a transparent parrel that stretched out to the comparative length of a rifle.

**"Hello, Holy Grail."** The figure spoke to the false god. **"It seems you've met my Harbinger. And royally pissed him off, at that."** The demonic creature let out a low laugh that shook the heavens as the God of Control stared back in shock and awe.

_"S-Satanael? You are the Persona of this foolish mortal?!"_ The former cup seemed to be on his haunches while in the presence of Satanael.

The demonic being only let out another laugh. **"Yes, I am. My Harbinger has done a rather splendid job of ripping the reigns of control from your grasp. Even now, with the tremendous loss that weighs upon him, he still stands defiant to your tyranny."** Satanael raised his mighty revolver up to eye level, pointing straight through the false god's temple.

**"Now..."** the demon growled as black energy crackled around his gun. **"It's time that you die."**

Before Yaldabaoth could get another word in, the towering Persona fired, sending a shell of amalgamated sin straight through the false god's head. The thundering gunshot echoed across the sky, a sign that the reign of the God of Control was no more.

Yaldabaoth's corpse, unable to contain the wills of the masses, shattered into a cacophony of golden shards, scattering across the city of Tokyo far below.

Akira watched the shards fall as Satanael receded into the depths of his soul, filling him with immense strength. Joker should have felt happiness, joy at the prospect of saving humanity. The masses were finally free to make their own choices, unaltered by the hands of a presence playing god.

All Joker felt now was sadness.

He wished that his friends were here to witness this. The victory that he couldn't have done without them. A gaping void was rapidly widening in his chest. He was not ready to let them go.

He wished he could fix this.

A brilliant burst of light suddenly erupted in front of the teen, catching Joker's attention before being consumed in its brilliant glow. All the raven haired teen could see was white. He couldn't even feel his feet on the ground anymore.

As soon as it began, it stopped.

* * *

And Akira found himself on a train.

"W-What the-" The raven haired teen looked at his surroundings in a panic before noticing the weird looks that the passengers were giving him. Taking on a more calm expression, Akira looked out the window to see the roofs of the suburbs passing by him. Off a bit in the distance was a city filled with tall skyscrapers and glimmering lights.

Akira recognized that city. It was where he had been staying for the past year, after all.

_'What the hell?'_ The raven haired teen thought to himself as he slumped down a bit in his seat. _'I'm on a train on its way to Tokyo. Last thing I remember is taking out Yaldabaoth with the ruler of the goddamn underworld. Flash of light. Now I'm here...'_ Akira rubbed his temple with one hand as he tried to process this turn of events. _'Either I'm going batshit crazy or I just had the weirdest fucking dream.'_

**'I assure you, My Harbinger, it is neither.'**

Akira jumped in his seat, again causing the people around him to look at him with confused expressions.

**'Easy, easy. I am not a foe. Allow me to explain your situation to you, if you will allow me to.'** The voice soothed.

Akira paused for a second before relaxing a bit in his seat. Despite the deep, demonic voice ringing in his skull, the raven haired teen couldn't help but be relaxed by the voice. _'...Okay. I'm listening.'_

**'Good. What you have witnessed for the past nine months was not a lie. You did live through those events, including the Palaces, taking out the traitorous cup...and losing your allies...'** Akira's spirits dropped a bit at the mention of his teammates. He didn't know if he'd ever get over losing them.

**'I feel your pain, My Harbinger. I have lost comrades in battle as well. But you, it seems, have been given a special chance.'** The voice said.

Akira perked up at that. _'What do you mean "special chance"?'_ He asked the voice in his head.

The voice cleared his throat (how and why disembodied voices did that, Akira had no clue), **'When you defeated the God of Control, it released its hold on humanity. However, the cup transformed back into its original appearance, as the true Holy Grail. It is a symbol of the wishes of humanity, its purest form a representation of the hope of a better future. The hidden function of this artifact, however...is to grant the wish of whoever wished upon it.'**

Akira's eyes widened in surprise, his brain connecting the dots. _'I was wishing for my friends to come back. For me to fix everything. So the Holy Grail heard me...?'_

The voice laughed, **'Indeed, My Harbinger. The Holy Grail heard your deepest desire and has granted your wish in the only way it knew how. I believe you can infer what it has done to you.'**

Akira was almost certain of what the Holy Grail did. Taking his cell phone out of his pocket, Akira turned it on to see the current date.

April 7th. The day he arrived in Shibuya for his probation.

_'I travelled back in time.'_ Akira thought to himself.

**'Correct.'** The voice confirmed. **'The enemy you have fought so hard against has ironically given you the chance to defeat it once more, this time in a situation more to your liking.'** The voice laughed at that, which Akira couldn't help but chuckle to as well. It almost seemed like he was in a Shakespearean play, fulfilling the role of a tragedy stricken character only to be given a once in a lifetime chance at redemption.

_'So...I've got another nine months in order to prepare and take out an overgrown sippy cup again. Shouldn't be too hard.'_ Akira let his inner Joker seep through a bit. _'The real concern here...is changing what I couldn't the last time.'_

**'Do not fret. I will lend as much of my power as I can, though as the situation stands, I cannot lend much.'**

_'Wait,'_ Akira said, _'Why not?'_

**'It pains me so, but traveling back seems to have some unwanted consequences, one of which being that your vessel has now reverted back to when you first started your journey. As a result, our contract cannot be fulfilled until your body can bear the strain of your Apex.'**

Akira subtly felt his arms, noticing the lack of bulk and definition that had come with his nine months of Phantom Thievery. _'I can build my body back up again, and my Confidants shouldn't be an issue. First thing I should worry about right now should be the first mistake I made: not saving Shiho from Kamoshida._ ' Akira clenched his fist in anger at the memory.

**'One step at a time. I knew you'd be an amazing Trickster. Now, we seem to be coming up at your station.'** Akira looked outside to see that the train had finally arrived at his station. **'Work hard, My Harbinger. You have much to accomplish this time around.'**

As Akira got up from his seat, he felt his signature Joker smile adorn his face. _'Yeah...I'll show Yaldabaoth a world of hell when he sees my encore.'_


	2. Back to the Coffee Shop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira, freshly taken to the start of his journey, tries to make good amends with Sojiro on his "first day".
> 
> The teen also does a bit of "cleanup" in the Velvet Room...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! New chapter is here, and a lot earlier than I thought it was gonna be! Hope you all enjoy!

It took Akira only a few minutes to reach Leblanc, his home away from home. At least, that's what it was in the other timeline. He had to remember that he technically hadn't been to the quaint little shop yet. It pained Akira to know that Sojiro, a man he had considered something of a father, wouldn't know or trust him. Hopefully as time passed their relationship would grow.

The familiar ring of the store bell chimed as Akira walked into Leblanc. The succulent smell of coffee hung in the air and hit the teen's nose, filling him with the feeling of home. The sharp scent of curry gave Akira a bit of nostalgia as well. The shop was void of customers, with the owner of the shop leaning on the counter, trying to solve a crossword puzzle.

"Hmm...the name of a shellfish used in the cultivation of pearls...that's a tough one." The old man mumbled to himself.

"The answer would be oysters, sir." Akira answered for him.

Sojiro turned to Akira and set his newspaper down. "Ah, so you're the guy." A stern look adorned his face. "I'm Sojiro Sakura. I'll be taking care of you for the next year."

Akira smiled and bowed to his caretaker. "I'm Akira Kurusu, sir. Thank you for agreeing to take care of me."

Sojiro gave the teen a confused look. "Uh...sure." The old man poked a thumb at the stairway in the back. "You'll be sleeping upstairs in the attic. Your stuff came by earlier, so I put it up there."

The two walked upstairs and Akira took in the state of the attic. It was incredibly dirty, with stuff cluttering every corner of the room and dust clinging to every surface. Akira's cardboard box of belongings sat dejectedly in the middle of the floor.

It was perfect.

"I gave you sheets for your bed, but I ain't helping you with cleaning the rest of it." Sojiro said as he blew out a puff of smoke. "Once I close up for the night, you'll be all alone here. If I find a single thing missing from downstairs, I'm kicking your ass to the curb without a moment's hesitation."

Akira nodded, "Of course, sir."

Sojiro put his cigarette back in his mouth, "Good. Now, the guys who assigned me in your care told me the gist of the situation. You attacked a man with his girl, he got injured, and then he sued. Seems like I got myself a real troublemaker on my-"

"Not to be disrespectful, Sakura-san," Akira interrupted, a tiny sliver of irritation laced in his voice, "but I wasn't going to stand by and let a man just _rape_ a woman." In the back of his mind, Akira thought to himself, _'Weird...didn't the authorities tell Sojiro the real story last time...?'_

Sojiro's eyes widened as the cigarette almost fell out of his mouth. "Huh...?!" The café owner uttered before composing himself. "I-I wasn't told that, but it doesn't change your situation. The guy still sued you, you got a criminal record on you, and now you're stuck here for the time being. If you want my advice, just lay low for a year and you'll be let off." Sojiro began walking back towards the stairs. "The shop's still open, so I can't help you with the cleaning. Oh, and tomorrow we're going to Shujin to talk to the principal about your enrollment, so don't stay up too late." With that last note and a grumble of "What a waste of my Sunday", the old man walked back down to the café.

_'I think I managed to crack though that tough shell of his, at least by a little. The way he phrased his words made it sound like he'd changed his mind about helping me clean.'_ Akira smiled to himself before turning around and getting to work. With the proficiency near that of a soldier field stripping his gun, Akira swept, mopped, and dusted his attic bedroom to near spotlessness. He was so proficient at his task that he'd finished in only a quarter of the time it took him the last time around.

Having the extra time on his hands, Akira tackled the mess that cluttered his workbench, the shelf of books in the corner (getting a few good reading materials out of it), and the pile around his precious plant. Though while getting rid of the trash around the potted plant, Akira did make an interesting find. It was an old TV, the same one that he'd bought from the thrift store down the street in the last timeline.

_'That's...odd.'_ Akira thought to himself as he set up the TV on the old table. _'First the details of my case are mixed up, according to Sojiro, then my TV is in the attic instead of at the thrift store. I mean, I'm not complaining about the TV...but I better be careful in case some other things change as well.'_

Once the TV was successfully set up, Akira turned to his last task: putting away his box of belongings. Even now, he still had a hard time even looking at the thing, but he had to push those feelings aside. The teen walked over to the box with heavy steps and reached down to pick up the box.

The box rippled in response.

Akira quickly flinched his hand away, now extremely cautious of whatever contents were now in the box. That was a Metaverse ripple, which could only be seen by Persona wielders, and even then the distortion had to be powerful enough to affect the real world.

**'My Harbinger,'** Satanael spoke in his head, **'I sense that though the contents of the box have been shifted by the Metaverse, the contents of the box do not seem inherently dangerous. It may be worth checking the box's contents.'**

Akira nodded and carefully kneeled in front of the box. With steady hands, the teen opened the flaps of the cardboard box...and stared wide eyed at its contents.

The first thing was money. Lots and lots of money.

Stacks of cold, hard cash were packed on one side of the box. Taking a couple of stacks out, Akira could see that the money was stacked in a three by four formation. Thumbing through one of the stacks, Akira counted a total of 500,000 yen.

_'Six. Million. Yen.'_ Akira thought to himself in awe. _'I now have six million fucking yen in storage.'_

Shaking himself from his reverie, Akira put a solid 50,000 yen in his wallet and hid the rest of the money in one of the drawers in his workbench. He didn't want anyone to know that he just carried around an absolute shit ton of money on his person, lest he get robbed. Worst case scenario is that he gets targeted by Kaneshiro before the Thieves are even created.

Going back to his box of belongings, Akira pulled out another familiar item: his laptop. Seeing the thing brought a smile to his face. Though it was very shady, the Black Market site had a lot of useful items for traversing the later stages of Mementos and later Palaces. Akira put the laptop on his workbench.

Akira spent some more time searching through his box, finding an assortment of miscellaneous items and infiltration tools. There was even a book on the sites of Tokyo.

The last item, however, was what really got Akira's attention.

Nestled on top of his pile of clothes was Akira's journal.

With tentative hands, the teen picked up the book and flipped through its pages. All of his battles, all of the Palaces, trips to Mementos, hangouts with friends, all of it was recorded in the small journal. Truth be told, Akira was still doubting the reality of the situation he was in. This broke away any of that doubt.

This was real. He could change things.

Akira clutched the book to his chest, trying his best to keep the tears from coming out. _'Don't worry, guys.'_ He thought to himself, _'I'm gonna fix this. All of it. I'll see you all soon.'_

Hearing the creaking of the stairs, Akira quickly pocketed the book, closed the box, and carried it over to the rack next to the stairs just as Sojiro completed his ascent. The café owner looked over the attic in surprise as Akira stuffed his box into the only free space on the rack.

"Damn, kid, I heard you making a bunch of noise up here, but I wasn't expecting you to be cleaning, much less doing an entire makeover of this place."

Akira let out a chuckle as he stood up. "Well, what can I say? I'm just full of surprises."

Sojiro chuckled a bit as he pulled out a small journal from his back pocket, the exact same as Akira's old one, and held it out to the teen. "I'm supposed to write to your probation officer twice a month, so it'd help me a lot if you wrote down what you do in this journal."

"Of course, Boss." Akira said on instinct as he took the journal, flinching as he used Sojiro's nickname.

The old mag in question blinked in surprise. "How do you know that name?"

Akira was internally panicking as he came up with something on the fly, "Ah, apologies Sakura-san, I just overheard some of the people talking to you downstairs call you Boss, so it just kinda slipped out." The teen scratched the back of his head.

Thankfully, Sojiro seemed to buy the lie. "Ah, okay. Well, you can call me Boss if you want. I'm more used to it anyways." Sojiro then stared at Akira for a good moment before hesitantly speaking, "Uh, so...about what you said earlier...about defending that woman..."

Akira caught what his caretaker was trying to ask and gave him a sad smile. "Yeah, I saved a woman from being raped, and as thanks I get arrested. Some world, huh?" The raven haired teen chuckled to himself. "But...if I had the chance to go back, I'd do it all over again."

Sojiro gave the teen a curious gaze. "Why, if you don't mind me asking?"

Akira shrugged, "It's just the wrong thing to leave alone, you know? I believe that if you give enough good to the world, eventually the good spreads along. I've always been about making the world a better place. _Why not take every opportunity I can get?_ " Akira finished as he smiled at Sojiro.

The owner of Leblanc seemed a bit lost in thought at the teen's explanation. After a moment, Sojiro pulled out his phone and quickly dialed in a number before putting the phone to his ear.

"Hey, Taba." Akira perked up at the name. "I'm gonna be a bit late coming home tonight. Hired an assistant to help run the shop and I need to show him the ropes." A pause. "Yes, I'll get some on my way out." Another pause, then Sojiro chuckled, " _Yes_ , I know which flavor to get. I'll see you soon." The old man hung up and gave Akira a kind smile. "So...how'd you like to learn how to brew the perfect cup of joe?"

Akira smiled. "Sounds perfect, Boss."

As the two made their way downstairs, Akira could feel the gap between them close just a bit.

_**I am thou, thou art I.** _

_**In the strange game of Fate, thou hast rekindled the bond of the man who gave thou shelter when no one else would.** _

_**With the rebirth of the Heirophant Arcana, thou shall strengthen thy Wings of Rebellion and save humanity once more.** _

_**Heirophant: Rank 1** _

_**Rank 1 Perk: Coffee ABCs** _

_**Can now use the coffee machines in Leblanc to be able to roast coffee, allowing for small SP regen items in the Metaverse.** _

* * *

Later that night, in the realm between dream and reality, mind and matter, Akira woke up trapped in a cell.

_'Fuck.'_ The teen thought simply as he sat up on his wooden "bed". _'I really didn't want to go through this again.'_ He sighed. _'Alright. Let's see if I have better acting skills than Ann.'_

Akira stood up from his "bed" and made his way over to the bars of his cell as best he could with the ball and chain strapped to his left ankle. He heard the clicking of shoes against stone as the Twin Wardens appeared from their respective corners-

Akira's brain shortcircuited.

_'What the actual fuck?!'_ The teen screamed in his mind as he saw the Twins and their...updated look. Their respective getups were the same; black and blue themed office uniforms, officer caps that had four letters on each one (From memories of the last timeline, Akira figured out the word they spelled was "oxymoron"), and eyepatches with the Velvet Room insignia emblazoned on them. The two mirrored each other near perfectly, the only differences being that the girls had their eyepatches on opposing eyes and Justine had a braided ponytail while Caroline had a bun. There was one huge difference compared to the other timeline though.

The Twins looked older. Way older.

Caroline and Justine now looked like they were Akira's age, coming out at a few inches below him. If he had to guess, they'd probably come at about the bridge of his nose. They were...very well endowed as well. They could definitely give Ann a run for her money in the body department, that's for sure. Even with their womanly figures, Akira could tell that they had some muscle to them, showing that they weren't pushovers and got rid of their deceptively weak look from the first time. **(AN: If you want a visualization of how they look, just look up ScruffyTurtles' version of them from the Adult Confidant AU, just without the personality swap.)**

Caroline whacked the bars of his cell with her riding crop, snapping him out of his self-induced panic attack. "Stand up straight, Inmate! You're in the presence of our master!"

Akira felt the pit of his stomach start to boil as the twin wardens sidestepped to reveal their "master". Smack dab in the middle of the cognitive prison sat "Igor", or rather the God of Control pretending to be the kind long-nosed gentleman. It pissed Akira off knowing that this bastard had been keeping tabs on him throughout his entire time here and being the one to sever Lavenza into the Twins that stood off to the side.

"Hello there, Trickster. Welcome to my Velvet Room." "Igor" greeted in his calm yet slightly malevolent tone. Akira caught the phrasing of the false god's words. My Velvet Room. _My_ Velvet Room. This bastard had been pretentious enough to outright claim this safe haven as his own. Akira grit his teeth as the pit in his stomach grew.

"Igor" seemed to take notice of this. "Hmm? You seem stressed, Trickster. The grasp of your ruin must be tighter than I had previously thought." The fake advisor of the Velvet Room sounded almost delighted at that prospect. "Akira Kurusu, the veins of your corruption grow deep. Rehabilitation must be sought, otherwise it will lead to your eventual ruin in the near future." The fake advisor leaned forward a bit, his manic grin impossibly wide. "I'm sure you have many questions, but they are questions that you must earn the right to be answered-"

" _Shut up._ " Akira interrupted, the faces of "Igor" and the Twins contorting to surprise. Akira, meanwhile, was cursing himself. He had tried his best to reign in his anger, at least for the time being, but this pretentious asshole was really getting on his last nerve. Flashes of his fallen friends raced through his mind, causing Akira's rage to flare once more as his signature domino mask appeared on his face in a burst of ethereal flames, his sign of rebellion plain for all to see.

_'Well then...'_ The teen thought to himself as he gripped onto his mask tight. _'Guess I ain't hiding.'_

With strength and resolve, Akira violently ripped of his mask, the blood spraying out as he let out a cry of _**"PERSONA!!!!!"**_ The azure flames sparked from his mask and blood, racing across his entire frame in an instant before slipping off and rising above him, leaving him in his signature Phantom Thief attire. The brilliant blue flames behind him took shape and solidified, allowing the lone thief's original spirit of rebellion to spring forth from the blaze. The black clad thief and his Persona took on mighty stances as the Pillager of Twilight spread his wings in triumph.

_**"I am the Pillager of Twilight, reborn once again from the sea of thy soul: Arsene!"**_ The Persona shouted, the astral chains around him swirling around him like an aura. The front door of Akira's cell burst open and disintegrated in a flash of blue flames, allowing the lone thief to waltz right out. The Twins could only stare on in shock at the sudden development and arrogance of their inmate as "Igor" only laughed.

"This is a very promising development, Trickster!" The false god laughed as the teen approached. "You are well on your way to clear yourself of the ruin that lays before-"

**BANG!**

A gunshot rang out as "Igor's" head snapped back, his body laying limp on his chair. Blowing the smoke off the barrel of his pistol, Akira holstered his weapon as he gave the false god a look of defiance.

"The only ruin I see," The teen said as "Igor" began fracturing into splinters of golden light. "Is from the bastard that's right in front of me."

"Igor's" body cracked more and more until his body shattered into a shower of light, bathing the Velvet Room in its glow. After a few seconds, the light died down...revealing Igor slumped over on the table.

Akira felt the warmth of the astral flames lick his body as his Phantom Thief attire disappeared, leaving him in his pajama clothes this time. Akira felt the air of the Velvet Room become much lighter than before, the oppressive presence of the God of Control all but evaporate from the safe haven.

_'I wonder...if the oppressive feeling from Yaldabaoth is gone, does this mean that by reinstating the real Igor's control over the Velvet Room, the room left the Prison of Regression?'_ Akira asked himself as the real Igor groaned and slowly got up. Caroline and Justine, finally snapping out of their reverie, rushed to their true master's side.

"Master, are you okay?!" Justine asked Igor with an uncharacteristic amount of worry. Caroline meanwhile was keeping a death glare on Akira, making sure that he didn't do anything to Igor. Not like he would, anyways.

The real Igor's eyes fluttered open, locking eyes with Akira. "Oh, hello there, Trickster!" The true Velvet Room advisor said in his near high pitched voice. "Welcome to the Velvet Room!" The long-nosed man looked around at the dark prison surrounding the group. "Though the state of it does leave something to be desired."

Akira smiled at the advisor. "It's great to see you again, Igor."

Igor and the Twins gave him looks of confusion. "Again, Trickster? I have only met you this once. I'm sure I would have met you before I was so rudely banished from the Velvet Room."

Akira scratched the back of his head. "Ah, right. I'm still not used to this whole thing yet. You see, I have a very weird situation on my hands..."

And so Akira explained everything to Igor, about what happened on that fateful Christmas Day. The advisor looked rather astonished at Akira's tale while Caroline looked very skeptical. Justine, being Justine, was plain faced through it all.

When Akira finished, Igor put a hand to his chin. "A very interesting development indeed. I have only met two other individuals who have been able to perform such a feat, though one of them is...no longer with us, unfortunately." The Velvet Room advisor seemed to grow sad at that statement, though his wide grin never left his face. "Though in those situations, I was the one to grant them the wish of going back.

Akira's eyes widened. " _You can turn back time?!_ " He shouted in surprise.

"Only once ever few years or so, and I can only turn it back to the point the Velvet Room has been active for a user. If I try to attempt this if the Velvet Room has no person to aid, my power does not work." Igor explained. "In those situations, only I, my current assistant, and the person I send back retain their memories. As far as I could tell, nothing major changed from the original iteration of the timeline, though the first to use my gift ended up changing their gender."

Akira's mind betrayed him and thought about him becoming a girl before the teen violently annihilated those thoughts. 'Not the thing to be interested in, Kurusu.'

"The fact that you unwittingly used the Holy Grail is concerning to me." Igor continued on. "I have a theory, but I do not have the evidence to show for it. But let us move on to other matters, one of such is your newfound Arcana." Igor held out his hand and a card materialized above it, floating in an ethereal blue glow. "In your last moments before you were sent back, you gained the strength to summon an extraordinary inner power, allowing you to defeat the God of Control. The only type of Persona capable of achieving such a feat so easily would have to come from the World Arcana. The inner strength I sense from you fully supports this theory." Igor closed his hand and the card disappeared. "But since you have been sent back in time, the bonds that you have previously forged have broken, even the Fool Arcana, the beginning of journeys. Rebuilding these bonds is of _utmost_ importance in your fight to make a better future."

Akira nodded. "I wouldn't be able to defeat Yaldabaoth without them helping me grow. I'd _really_ like to have them by my side, even if we weren't going to fight a wannabe deity. Though what does my World Arcana have to do with my bonds?"

Igor's grin seemed to widen somehow. "I'm glad you asked, Trickster! You see, since the World Arcana symbolizes the end of the journey, you have developed many abilities that you practiced in your previous timeline. This experience gets a boost from the Arcana, making those tasks easier to perform. One of those skills you gained was bonding with you Confidants. Making bonds with and strengthening those bonds should become a much easier process for you. It doesn't hurt that you have memories of how your Confidants' personalities are, so you should know what to say to them." Igor chuckled with glee. "There are many more perks to wielding the World Arcana, but I will explain those another time. Your physical self is beginning to wake in the real world." True to Igor's word, Akira could hear the mixed ringing of the prison's alarm and the ringing of his phone's alarm.

Igor gave the thief a warm smile (which didn't really look any different from his normal look). "Do not fret, Akira Kurusu. I and my...assistants will do everything we can to aid you in your quest. The Holy Grail wanted to rig the game to keep you from preventing ruin. It is time that we turned the tables in this " _round two_ ", don't you think?"

As Akira faded back to the real world, he felt a sense of calm and relief knowing that he would have help in his time changing endeavor.

_**I am thou, thou art I.** _

_**In this strange game called Fate, thou hast freed the being that offers guidance through an unknown reality.** _

_**With the rebirth of the Fool Arcana, thou shall strengthen thy Wings of Rebellion and save humanity once more.** _

_**Fool: Rank 1** _

_**Rank 1 Perk: Basic Skills of the Metaverse** _

_**Allows access to skills such as Third Eye, Arcana Burst, Wild Talk, and Power Stock.** _


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira bonds with Sojiro and finally reenters Kamoshida's Palace. But...there's something different about Ryuji...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 is here! Hope you all enjoy!

Akira groggily woke up to the sound of his phone's alarm blaring in his ear, the details of last night still fresh in his mind. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, the teen picked up his phone and silenced his alarm, noting that the time was 9:20 AM.

Ugh.

_'Twelve hours of fucking sleep and I still feel like shit.'_ Akira grumbled to himself as he rubbed his temple with one hand. _'Well, I did awaken--or reawaken?--Arsene in the Velvet Room. I guess that would do a number on me even in my sleep.'_

Pushing himself out of bed, Akira slowly got dressed in his "new" school uniform while trying to fight off both sleepiness and a slight headache. Locating his toiletries from his belongings, the raven haired teen made his way down to the restaurant's bathroom, which surprisingly enough had a shower this time around. He had always resorted to using the public bath to wash himself in the other timeline.

After several minutes of tidying up and not even bothering with his hair, Akira stumbled out of the bathroom to the smell of his favorite meal: Sojiro's signature curry and coffee in the morning.

"Heh, morning there, Bedhead." Sojiro greeted as Akira sat down at the counter, stifling a yawn. "You woke up kinda late. Good thing we don't have to be at the school until noon." The old man set a plate of curry and a cup of coffee in front of him. "Here, this should wake you up."

Akira scooped up some of the steaming food into his mouth and was met with immediate satisfaction. The teen quickly consumed his meal before he took a swig of his coffee. The paradoxical mix of sweet and bitter soothed Akira's curry-tasting tongue and spread a delicate warmth throughout his body. Hell, it was even doing wonders for his fatigue and headache.

_'Ah, right, my body technically isn't used to caffeine yet. In this instance, I ain't complaining.'_ Akira absentmindedly acknowledged as he placed his empty cup down and let out a satisfied sigh.

Sojiro let out an impressed whistle. "Damn, kid, you really killed that meal. Didn't take you for a "curry-in-the-morning" type of guy."

Akira smiled. "Sorry, Boss, it just tasted really good. You really know your way around the kitchen."

"Yeah, well-" The shop bell rang, interrupting the café owner. The two turned to the front of the shop and Akira's eyes narrowed at the sight of a person he particularly despised: It was Futaba's abusive uncle, the one who was trying to extort Sojiro for taking care of Futaba.

_'Damn, this guy came a lot earlier than I thought.'_ Akira thought to himself. _'I wasn't expecting him to come until Ryuji awakens his Persona.'_

Sojiro crossed his arms, clearly irritated at the man's presence. "We're closed for the day."

The man held up his hands in defense, a plastered on smile on his face. "Oh, come on now, Sakura-san, there's no need for any hostility! I just wanted to see if lil' Futaba was around. Besides, who's the guy sitting at the counter if he isn't a customer?"

Before Sojiro could respond, Akira stood up from his chair and bowed. "I'm an employee of Sakura-san's. He recently hired me on Saturday so I can help him out with the shop. It's a pleasure to meet you, but Sakura-san and I have to head out. He wants to show me the ropes on buying ingredients for the shop, and traffic is bound to be bad due to some of the train lines being under construction. Isn't that right, Boss?" Akira turned towards his caretaker.

Quick to catch on, Sojiro nodded as he took out and lit a cigarette. "That's right. I need the extra hands, but they're useless to me if the one controlling them doesn't know what he's doing." The cafe owner put the lit cigarette in his mouth. "So if you'll excuse us, we'll be on our way."

Futaba's uncle frowned as he opened the door behind him. "Fine, but I'll be back later." He said as he exited Leblanc.

Sojiro let out a heavy sigh, smoke blowing out of his mouth. "Nice thinking there, kid. That should get him to leave me alone for a little while."

"No worries, Boss." Akira said as he took his plate and cup to the sink. "You looked like you didn't want him here, so I did the best that I could to help you."

Sojiro sighed again. "So you caught onto that, huh? Guess I need to work on my poker face then." The café owner let out a small chuckle. "You definitely saved my bacon though. Guess I owe you one."

"Oh _really_?" Akira smiled as he finished washing his dishes. "Well then, why don't you pay me back by teaching me how to make the perfect plate of curry to go along with that perfect cup of coffee? You do make a mean plate of the stuff."

The old man laughed, "That deal ain't half bad! Sure, kid, why not? You gotta learn to cook for yourself at some point anyways."

Akira grinned as he felt his bond with Sojiro grow deeper.

_**Hierophant: Rank 2** _

_**Rank 2 Perk: Curry ABCs** _

_**Allows curry to be made in Leblanc for slight SP regen for entire party.** _

"In all seriousness, I think we should really head out." Sojiro said as he checked his phone. "You reminded me about the trains being down and the traffic we gotta sit through. The streets might be packed at this point." The old man took his hat from off the counter and put it on as he made his way towards the front door. "We better hurry if we don't want to be late."

Akira sighed internally as he followed his caretaker out the door. _'Fuck, I_ really _don't want to listen to Kobayakawa bitch about me behaving again.'_

Several hours of traffic, one behavior rant, and a good night's sleep later...

Akira woke up, nerves and excitement shooting through his body. Today was it. Today was the day his journey began anew.

This time, he wasn't going to fail.

Akira quickly got dressed in his school uniform and made his way downstairs where Sojiro had his coffee and curry breakfast waiting for him. After quickly eating his meal and bidding Sojiro a farewell, Akira made his way out of Yongen-Jaya and to his school via train. Thankfully the lines to Aoyama-Ichitome were still up and running, but the trains were still very crowded.

After getting off at his stop, Akira made his way to Shujin, making sure to take the same route he took last time in order for the events of the other timeline to play out. He still had a few minutes before he would meet Ann, so Akira took out his old notebook and flipped to the new entry that he had made last night. It was a list of priorities that Akira needed to fulfill based on what he had wrote down and what he could remember.

_1\. Save Shiho_

_Priority number fucking one on this list at the moment. Not being able to help Shiho in the last timeline was a huge regret of mine, and I never got over it. Saving her from Kamoshida is something I have to do, and fast. Based on what I know, I have until the volleyball rally in order to prevent that bastard from doing anything to Shiho. The question is, what can I do that will work? I know the deadline, but not the exact time of when Shiho gets raped. The most plausible idea I have is to change Kamoshida's heart before the volleyball rally, but I might not make it to the Treasure in time. I'll keep on thinking of ideas as I go. Maybe Igor has a few ideas._

_2\. Train Hard_

_I have nine months to strengthen me and my team up in order to face Yaldabaoth. Morgana was able to evolve Zorro into Mercurius right before the fight, so it may be possible to do the same for the others. Here's hoping that's the case._

_3\. Prevent President Okumura's Death_

_Haru was grief-stricken at the death of her father, and it's another huge regret of mine in my Phantom Thief career. If only I had kept tabs on everyone, then maybe Okumura's shadow could have stayed alive long enough for him to be sent back to his real self. I have to make sure to pay attention when we change his heart this time._

_4\. Save Akechi_

_Not sure how to go about this one, but I still have time to come up with a plan. Don't worry, Crow. I will save you._

_5\. Bond With My Confidants_

_I want to bond with everyone. Not just because it will benefit the Phantom Thieves as a whole, but I wasn't that sociable in the last timeline, and that was a huge mistake that I found out too late. This redo will give me the chance to change that._

_6\. Think of More Objectives_

_Again, I have another nine months until the big fight. I won't end this with any regrets._

A wet spot appeared on the page, then another. Quickly pocketing his journal, Akira made for the overhang of a clothing store to escape the sudden rain. The teen looked at the cloudy sky as Shujin students carrying umbrellas chatted away on their trip to the school. While Akira felt a bit stupid for willingly leaving his umbrella at home, he knew that he needed to stay under this overhang in order to meet Ann and Ryuji.

A figure in a black jacket walked up next to him under the overhang. Akira felt his heart beat a little faster as the figure reached for their hood and pulled it back...

It was Ann. She was alive.

Seeing the quarter American girl at his side, shaking her fluffy blonde pigtails, made Akira want to jump for joy. She was alive! It took all of his inner strength in order to not trap the girl in a crushing hug.

"Hey." Akira was snapped from his thoughts as Ann addressed him, a look of confusion on her face. "Do I know you? You keep staring at me all weird."

_'Oh fuck.'_ Once again having an internal panic attack, Akira struggled to find his words. "Oh, I-I'm sorry, it's just...uh..." Oh god, the panic was setting in now. Akira could feel himself sweating bullets as the blonde in front of him just stared at him expectantly.

Suddenly an idea struck him. "...Are you Ann Takamaki by any chance?" The raven haired teen asked, causing Ann's eyes to widen in surprise. "I am, actually." The blonde replied. "Though, why do you ask? Do we know each other?"

"Ah, no, sorry." Akira replied, a twinge of pain hitting his heart as he replied. "It's just that...as embarrassing as it is for me, I like to skim through Vogue and I've seen you on the cover sometimes. I never thought I'd get to see a real model in the flesh, especially one that I'm a fan of!" He replied with a smile despite his internal panic now going into absolute overdrive. _'I said too much!'_ The teen yelled at himself as he continued to sweat bullets.

To his surprise, Ann's eyes widened as her cheeks were tinted with hints of scarlet. "O-Oh! Really? I wasn't expecting to have any fans! It...It's kind of exciting, actually." She shot a bright smile back at Akira.

_'Holy shit, that actually worked?!'_ Akira thought to himself as he let out a silent sigh of relief. A memory that seemed like years ago resurfaced in his mind. It was one of him hanging out with the blonde girl, with her explaining that she would probably quit doing the modeling business full time in order to go a different career route.

_'I might have just ignited a flame for her.'_ The raven haired teen thought to himself, enjoying Ann's happy demeanor as she looked at the cloudy sky. _'Now that I think about it...she really is stunning, both inside and out. Why have I not noticed this before?'_

A honk snapped Akira from his thoughts before he could really question why he was thinking them. The feeling of calm and happiness that had filled Akira fell away to anger. Turning towards the black sports car that had parked next to them, Akira once again saw the face of Suguru Kamoshida, Shujin Academy's PE Teacher and Volleyball Coach.

"Hey there, Takamaki-san." Kamoshida called from inside his car. "You need a lift? Wouldn't want you to be late."

Ann's demeanor immediately grew sad, which was only elevated by the weak smile that she put on to cover it. "Yeah, thank you." She weakly replied as the blonde walked over and got into the teacher's car.

Kamoshida looked over at Akira. "And what about you? Do you need a ride?"

As much as Akira wanted to get in the car to keep Kamoshida from trying anything with Ann, it would screw with the plans to take down Kamoshida for good. "I should be fine. I have to learn the route to school anyways." Akira forced out, putting on a fake smile as he pulled out his phone.

The teacher shrugged. "Suit yourself." He said as he rolled up Ann's window. Akira got one last glimpse of the blonde girl's downtrodden face before the sports car rolled away from the curb and drove down the street.

_'Damnit, I'm sorry Ann.'_ Akira apologized, _'But if Kamoshida's gonna be taken down, I need to do this. At least I can meet Ryuji this way and we can start our mission to-'_

"Takamaki, wait!" A voice called out. Akira's mind ground to a halt as another girl ran past him, stopping a little ahead of him as she bent over, gasping for breathe. "Damnit, screw that pervy teacher!"

Akira barely registered the sound of the Metanav picking up on one of Kamoshida's keywords as he stared at the girl in front of him in shock. Somehow his brain had enough functionality left to blurt out his line, "Pervy teacher?", causing the girl to turn to him, a stern look on her face.

She wore the same Shujin uniform that he wore, but she was sloppily dressed, letting the red "No Mo' Rulez" shirt be seen by all. Her bright yellow hair was completely buzzed down one side while the rest fell to the side to about ear length on the other. Her chocolate brown eyes were sharp despite their color, and they were drilling into him with an accusatory look.

As much as Akira couldn't believe it, the evidence was literally staring him in the face.

Ryuji Sakamoto was now a girl.

"What's it to you, huh?" The girl Ryuji asked him, her tone defensive. "You gonna rat me out to Kamoshida?"

At this moment, Akira played the ultimate card he had at his disposal: play stupid.

"I...who?" Akira asked, his face completely blank.

This was surprisingly effective. "Wait...Suguru Kamoshida. PE Teacher at Shujin Academy. Do you not know him? He's practically a star there." Female Ryuji asked, her tone and facial expression changing to complete confusion. "You...you do go to Shujin, right? There ain't any other school that uses our uniform."

"I do, but I just got here on Saturday." Akira explained. "I'm a transfer student. Akira Kurusu." The raven haired teen held out a hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

The girl Ryuji looked at him for a second before sporting a huge grin. "Ryuko Sakamoto." She made Akira do a fist bump instead of a handshake. "I'm guessing that you don't know the way to the school? C'mon, I know a shortcut." The now named Ryuko turned around and began leading the way, Akira catching up next to her.

_'Okay, I managed to get Ryuj-Ryuko to initiate the navigation, but we're still missing two codewords...what were they? It's been so long since I've been to Kamoshida's Palace.'_ Akira turned to Ryuko and asked, "Hey, so, if you don't mind me asking...what's your deal with this Kamoshida guy? And for that matter, why'd you ask me about him?"

Ryuko let out an irritated sigh. "You know that bastard that was driving the car? That was Kamoshida." The blonde's eyes narrowed at saying his name. "Bastard's a real work of art, if you know what I'm sayin'. Does a lot of messed up shit, but people still praise him like he's done nothing wrong. I bet he thinks he's the king of his own castle or somethin'!" Ryuko ranted, unwittingly causing the Metanav on Akira's phone to complete its search. A pulse emanated from the phone, hitting Akira and Ryuko with a wave of nausea as the two clutched their heads.

_'Yes!'_ Akira cheered as he sneakily slid his phone back into his pocket. Next to him, Ryuko groaned, "Damnit, I wanna go home." Shaking her head, the blonde continued trekking towards the school.

Several minutes of navigating the cognitive alleyways later, Ryuko let out a gasp of "What the-" as she and Akira stood in front of the first Palace: Kamoshida's Castle of Lust.

Ryuko turned to Akira confused. "Did we make a wrong turn somewhere...?" She whistfully asked.

Akira shrugged. "I'm not sure. I've only been to the school once, but this definitely wasn't what it looked like. The sign at the front says otherwise though." The raven haired teen pointed at the sign next to the drawbridge, which read "Shujin Private Academy" in delicate kanji.

Ryuko's eyes widened. "Damn, you're right!" The blonde looked at the foreboding building for a moment. "Well, I guess there ain't anythin' else to do but go on in." The blonde then began making her way inside the cognitive castle.

Taking a deep breath, Akira followed Ryuko into the castle. _'Alright. Mission Start.'_

* * *

_"...ey....h....he..... **HEY!!!** "_

A shout shook Akira from his slumber, a sharp pain immediately twinging in his back and ribs as he shot up to a sitting position. The teen clutched his chest as he looked to Ryuko, who was kneeling beside him.

"Hey, whoa, take it easy!" She panicked as she saw Akira cringe in pain. "Those bastards checked you pretty good. I wouldn't do any sudden movements if I were you." Ryuko stood up as she observed the prison cell they were in. "I woke up a bit before you and I tried finding a way out of here. No dice. I'm not even sure where we are. Some sort of movie set?" Akira could hear the strain in Ryuko's voice, clearly struggling to make sense of it all. It made him feel guilty for doing this for her, but he couldn't exactly explain that this was supposed to happen.

A distant scream and the clanging of metallic footsteps rang out to their cell, causing the two teens to jump slightly. They rushed towards the bars, trying to see the source of the noise. "You...you don't think..." Ryuko slammed her hand into the bars. "Damnit, what the hell?! What are we supposed to do?!"

Akira went to put a hand on her shoulder to soothe the blonde, but he stopped as the sound of metallic footsteps got louder. From around the corner, four large knights wearing white masks appeared in front of the cell. Akira clenched a fist, ready for what was to come next.

"Prisoners! Be glad that your punishment has been decided on!" One of the knights shouted. "Your crime is unlawful entry. Your punishment, therefore, is death." The two teens eyes widened at the declaration, Ryuko shouting out, "Wh-What?! Why the hell would you-"

"Oh, come on now, Sakamoto." A chill ran down Akira's spine as from behind the knights emerged a tall man, sporting a velvet cape adorned with hearts, wearing only a speedo underneath and a small cartoonish crown on top of his head. The man had a devilish smile on his face, eyes glowing a sickly yellow. "You know that you only brought this down upon yourself."

Shadow Kamoshida had arrived.

"K-Kamoshida?!" Ryuko shouted in surprise and slight disgust.

"W-Wait?!" Akira again played his ultimate strategy of playing dumb. "This guy is Kamoshida?!"

"Y-Yeah, it is, but this is weird even for me." Ryuko slammed her fist on the bars. "What the hell is going on, Kamoshitstain?! And what are you wearing?!"

Shadow Kamoshida only laughed. "The garbs befitting a king such as myself! But onto more pressing matters." His eyes narrowed as he glared at the two teens. "You trespassed on my land. Punishable by death, if memory suits me right." A wicked gleam came to his eyes as he chuckled, "Unless you want to pay a different price, Sakamoto-chan." Shadow Kamoshida's words were heavily laced, smooth sounding like velvet yet as deadly as venom.

Ryuko recoiled, a look of pure anger on her face. "Like hell I'd give anything to you, you sick bastard!" She shouted as she crossed her hands over her chest.

Meanwhile, Akira tried his best to suppress his unease, his revulsion, and his anger. He was already pissed off as it was with Kamoshida ruining his best friend's life, but to see this bastard harrassing her as well was chipping Akira's composed façade. He would've jumped the shadow by now and release the full force of Satanael on his sorry ass if it weren't for the growing unease that he felt from the shadow. Kamoshida's shadow was emanating an oppressive force, a presence that swept over Akira and was firing off every warning signal in his brain, telling him to avoid the cognition at all costs.

Shadow Kamoshida lightly shrugged. "Fine. Death it is then. Guards, open this door."

Faster than Akira or Ryuko could react, one of the knights opened the cell and all four barged in, shoving Ryuko to one wall while one pinned Akira to the opposite wall. The teen felt his ribs creak as the knight roughly pressed his shield into him, pinning him in place.

Shadow Kamoshida strolled up to the fallen Ryuko and looked down at her, smug as can be. "You know, I've been wanting to do this for a while now. You've been a constant pain in my ass ever since you joined the track team." A manic smile appeared on his face, filling the blonde girl with a sense of fear. "Now I get the chance to do whatever I want to you! Maybe I'll hold off killing you. There are things far worse than death, after all." Akira and Ryuko felt a pit form in their stomachs as the shadow laughed maniacally, his voice ringing out across the depths of the prison.

"Damnit, I won't let you!" Ryuko screamed, interrupting the shadow's laugh. "I'd rather die than let you have your way!" Meanwhile, Akira was preparing to summon Arsene, determined to stop Kamoshida from going too far.

The king, to their surprise, gave Ryuko a smug smirk. "Oh? _Then why haven't you done anything about it?_ "

Ryuko balked at the question. "H-Huh?"

"You talk a lot of shit, Sakamoto-chan." Kamoshida's shadow used her name mockingly. "But what have you really done to stop me? Sure, you punched me one time, but ever since then you've just screamed at my face and bitched about life not going your way. Admit it, you're _scared_ of me. Scared of what I might do to you if you really stepped out of line." The king motioned to one of the knights. "Stand her up." The knight directly above Ryuko abliged, roughly lifting her up by the arm and forcing her to her feet. "Now..." Shadow Kamoshida said, spreading his arms out wide. " _Hit me._ "

" _Wha...?_ " Ryuko and Akira questioned in surprise.

"That's right!" The king exclaimed with a wide smile. "Hit me! Let's see if you have the guts to do what you did last year!" His eyes bore into Ryuko's, manic with power and confidence.

_'He's acting completely different from the Kamoshida of my timeline. He's rougher, more demented and cruel in a way.'_ Akira thought to himself. _'Just what is he planning here?'_

Ryuko stood there, eyeing Shadow Kamoshida with a mixed look or rage and fear. The punk girl cocked her fist back, aiming straight at the king's face. The cognition only stood still, manic smile unwavering.

Ryuko stood still, her body trembling as she yelled at herself to punch the bastard. Yet she remained frozen, the look of fear in her eyes slowly replacing the rage that had filled them. Her will and pride were fighting a losing battle, overpowered by the desperate need to avoid pain.

Ryuko's fist lowered, a defeated look on her face.

The cognition laughed. "Looks like I was right!" Ryuko was slammed down to the floor once more, letting out a cry of anguish as she coughed up bile. "You can't hit me again! Scared that I'll break your other leg?" The king taunted, laughing all the while. Akira could feel his rage begin to boil as the king continued to laugh.

After a few moments, Shadow Kamoshida calmed down and gave Ryuko a bored look. "I'm tired of her now. Execute her."

The knight pinning the punk girl down pressed his foot harder into her back as he unsheathed his broadsword, holding it up to impale her with. The blonde struggled, trying with all her might to escape, but her efforts were in vain.

At the edge of death, Ryuko looked at Akira, the look in her eyes pleading with every fiber of her being to save her.

Akira abliged.

" **PERSONA!!!** " Once more ripping off the mask that appeared on his face in a shower of blue flames, Akira summoned Arsene, who made quick work of the knight pinning the teen down. Shadow Kamoshida and his guards all turned to the teen in surprise while Ryuko looked on in awe.

"Arsene, _Eiha!_ " With a shout, black and red masses of dark energy erupted from the ground, destroying two of the guards before they could even transform while the king and the guard pinning Ryuko managed to dodge. Eyes lighting in rage, Kamoshida turned to his last knight. "Forget the bitch! _Kill him!_ " He pointed at Akira and the guard turned into a Jack-o'-Lantern. Akira smiled as the cell shifted into the cognitive arena housing only him and his foe.

**"Ah, it is good to be back, Akira."** Arsene said with glee. **"Now, shall we save our rather blunt ally?"**

Akira gave his signature smirk as he pulled out his knife. "Yeah. Let's."

The Phantom Thief Joker has finally returned.

Dashing forward with lightning speed, the Phantom Thief performed three quick slashes across the shadow's face, carving out a good chunk of its health. He didn't know why, but whenever he entered the strange personal arena that appeared when fighting shadows, he was able to see their health in the form of a cartoonish heart. The Jack-o'-Lantern in front of him was a bit below half health after that initial attack.

Joker jumped back as the pumpkin headed shadow shot a fireball right at him, landing in a crouch as he ripped off his mask. " _Eiha!_ " The Phantom Thief called out the name of the curse spell as a geyser of curse energy tore into the shadow, killing it for good. Joker tugged at his red gloves as the arena dissolved into the prison cell he was previously in, with Kamoshida staring in fearful shock while Ryuko was in a stunned awe.

"No, that's impossible!" The king shouted in dismay as he clutched his head with both hands. "My men are supposed to be the strongest there is! How could a no good street rat like you-"

Suddenly, the cognition was shoulder checked by Ryuko, who was panting heavily as she shot a look at Akira. "C'mon! We gotta get outta here!"

"Right!" Not wasting a second, Joker dashed over to Shadow Kamoshida and snatched the keys that hung from his speedo. The two teens quickly exited the cell and closed it, with Joker locking the door and chucking the key into the moat that flowed behind them.

"Gah! You damn brats!" The king shouted as he shook the bars of his cell. Joker responded by giving the shadow the bird as he grabbed Ryuko's hand. "Follow me!" He told her as the two began their mad dash, wanting to get out of there before more guards showed up.

"No! NO! Get back here, you little shits! _I'm not done with you yet!!!_ " The king's screams slowly grew silent as the two teens made their way further and further into the depths of the dungeon.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Righting Our Wrongs](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28541493) by [NoNeedForFormality](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoNeedForFormality/pseuds/NoNeedForFormality)




End file.
